We all know that LED light bulbs are vastly more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, but there’s a quirk in that efficiency that most folks may not realize. As higher currents are fed to LEDs, past a certain point they become way less efficient — a phenomenon known as “LED droop.”

In 2011, UCSB professor Chris van de Walle and colleagues theorized that a complex non-radiative process known as Auger recombination was behind nitride semiconductor LED droop, whereby injected electrons lose energy to heat by collisions with other electrons rather than emitting light.

A definitive measurement of Auger recombination in LEDs has now been accomplished by Speck, Weisbuch, and their research team.

The experiment used an LED with a specially prepared surface that permitted the researchers to directly measure the energy spectrum of electrons emitted from the LED. The results unambiguously showed a signature of energetic electrons produced by the Auger process.

The researchers say that this discovery will lead to new ways of designing LED bulbs that avoid droop and produce higher light output at higher currents.

Features

Most people think they have to overhaul a sprawling basement or game room in order to create a true home theater experience. But that’s certainly not the case. You can create a true home theater, a room that lets you escape from the outside world and immerse yourself in top-notch audio and larger-than-life video in so much as a spare room.

AMX-controlled smart home by MediaTech Intelligent Home Systems (www.mediatechliving.com)

Intelligent homes are nothing new. Manufacturers like Crestron, AMX, Control4, Elan, Savant, and others have been playing the home automation game for years, decades even. These OG home automation systems require a custom integrator to install, usually have some hard-wired element, and are intuitive, sophisticated, feature-rich, and highly functional.

You were blessed with lots of windows and your living room has incredible natural light. So what’s the problem? Oh, is glare ruining your TV picture? Read on to find expert advice to fix this annoying problem.

You are trying to watch a film in high-def on Apple TV, your daughter is listening to Spotify while she’s doing homework, your wife is working on her laptop, your toddler is playing on the iPad, and your son is, gulp, doing some serious PC gaming. All this online action can bring your home network to its knees.